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I used to watch a lot of FN back in the early days. I enjoyed Jack McDavid, Mario Batali, Sara Moulton. Now, I never watch FN. The turning point, for me, was when Rachel Ray became a "star" (gag).
Now if I want to learn something about cooking, I tune in PBS, and watch Jacques Pepin, Lidia, or the two ladies on America's Test Kitchen.

I have to agree with many comments here.I have studied culinary arts for years and these housewife cook wannabees do not know the difference between a good Veloute and a bowl of gravy.
Where does the food netwok find these people?
Sandra Lee gets so excited over her booze,you would think she was an alcoholic! Rachael Ray acts like the host of Sesame Street with her ignorant, goofy, childish sayings. Paula Dean serves so much fat in her food, it is more rich than her fake,overpronounced accent which is comparable to fingernails on a chalkboard.Giada dresses like a street walker and tries to sound italian with her fancy pronouncing og food.What happened to credible culinarians? are all we are left with are women's day readers like these four women who think they are teaching cooking? please!!!

My favorite is Ina and my very least favorite is Giada. Can Giada's tops get any lower without this show being rated as porn? I have nothing at all against showing some cleavage, but please...this is a cooking show, and if her cooking isn't good enough to stand on its own, they should take her off the air. Actually, I tried several of her recipes and thought they we just "okay". Her books are loaded with photos of her rather than of the food, and she is way too full of herself. She should stop the annoying Italian accent when she pronounces Italian food items. She was born and raised in California for goodness sakes!

I used to watch this channel frequently for info on cooking techniques, and good recipes; not on much anymore. Weekend getaways at $40 and such rot are a waste of time. I have no problem with the dumbed-down shows for the chef-boyardee crowd, but I have the travel channel, with Bourdain, for the other stuff.

Faves: Alton, Mario, Sara

Middling: Sandra, Giada [OK....just eye candy....no turtlenecks needed]. Flay....I like the genre, so I follow his recipes. Emeril....shelf life date gone by......he's now a shill on the "green network".....and, not convincingly so. Paula.....on the fast track to Emeril status.

Least: Ray Ray. Well, Sandra too...although S doesn't annoy me me nearly as much as does RR.

FAVE: jamie oliver -- i LOVE jamie at home. also nigella -- apparently i love brits.

LEAST FAVES: sandra lee, hands down. not even a competition!

Favorites: Paula Dean, her recipes I can make and have. Sandra Lee because her recipes are very doable. Why do so many dislike her? I love to watch her. I also like the fact that with Sandra Lee, you can take common packaged stuff and make something great. Alton Brown, definitely a fav of mine. I can't stand Emeril. His recipes are so complicated, why bother? Ina Garten's recipes are too complicated as well.
Least Favorite: Obviously Rachel Ray is an amature when it comes to cooking. Come on folks, I mean, my teenage son can concoct what she comes up with. Also, she is extremely irritating with all of her hand gestures and her EEVO and her rolling eyes. I deliberately turn off the FN when she is scheduled. I just don't get it. She's awful. BEST: Alton Brown WORST: Rachel Ray

I know this article is old but I wanted to input. I just started drinking Jones and it tastes WAY better. Especially the cream soda, which I do not like usually. I did some research and it does appear that it's healthier than normal soda, but I can certainly say that IMO it has a huge taste difference for the better.

@BigD I want to marry you!

I loooove Jay's brand "Hot Stuff" barbecue potato chips. I pick and choose the ones with the most red dust on them!

Otherwise, gimme pork rinds with Tabasco any day. I prefer the way oversalted, puffy styrofoamy-textured ones, but I'll eat the super crunchy ones as well.

I also like Andy Capp hot fries/cheese fries/pub/fries. They're basically stick-shaped Funyuns with cheese flavoring, yes?

Holy crap I love junk.

Okay, I'm changing the topic a little. Maybe it's just an addition. What do y'all like to use as dips? Regular corn chips are gluten-free for me...yay! What are your favorite dips ("normal" or otherwise), for all of these tasty chips
Oh, and I actually enjoy baked Lays...yum!

First of all I have to recover from laughing sooo hard at the remarks from:
Nance- re: Sandra Lee on the Kwanzaa cake (topping in with corn nuts) please tell me your joking, I don't know if you or Sandra's Kwazaa cake recipe want to kill ME. rotfl.
Jensings- your comment also made me roll off the couch, well put.
Alssa- same as above
Thanks y'all for a very good laugh.

Now who I like:
Alton - becuz he is silly and informative, I like that.
Emeril- becuz of due respect, but he needs to (or has) retire, his "bam" has gotten a little too old.
Ina- like her soft spoken demure and her recipes seem very good, but did she make a pact with the devil? Read her bio eveything thing she did she is successful at... hmmmmmm. That nervous laugh does get to me though.
Tyler- tried some of his stuff....really good.
Sara Moulton- like her alot, she is so relaxed, I like her cooking, she teaches, and she covers UP!! I miss her.
Cat Cora-total professional, she is very pretty but like all chefs ( iam one myself) cover's UP!! She wears a chef coat. I like her demure and professional knowledge.
Anthony Bourdain- Love his shows, they tell the real shit that goes on in cultures.
Mario- real authentic chef. Love his shows and his foods. Wll miss him too.
Duff-I like but other then his oux and Mary Alice many of his workers seem liike there on drugs.
Guy- I like him. his show makes me sick becuz my city has very few diner, drive-ins and dives anymore( I live in Seattle). His other show I only saw a few times, but I liked what he made so far. He's funny.
Symon- I like him. He's professional and his giggles crack me up. I like his food.
Flay- His actual shows bore me to sleep but I do respect his success and I 'm sure his food is good. I hear good reviews about his restaurants.
Ming Tsi- I miss him, he too is a Pro. and I loved his show. I made a dish of his for Mother's Day once and it turned out great but man, I almost had to hop a plane to Asia to get some of the ingreds. for it.

Now for my dislikes:
Paula Deen- I like her home program (she's somewhat mellow) but the shit she makes.......
Paula's party- That is enough to make my ears bleed. Is she drunk on that show? She is flirting, forgetting what they are doing she is hamming it up. Nooooooooo!!
Robin What her name- Boring.
Giada- I liked her pogram when it first aired, but now it is a joke. Yes that phoney accent, the Farrah Fawcett smile, yes the low cut shirts. Shit she is making Italian food (maybe), she should be professional and wear a chef coat. You get shit all over yourself making Italian food. It's food food porn.
Sandra Lee- Ah wtf is she doing on FN? Yes she has a concept for making things go easy in the kitchen, yes someone above wrote that some chefs use canned this and that for fresh and its true, and that is good, but she can at least come through with some dishes that are homemade 100% for the times one has day off or special occasions ect. Anyone can open a box or packet and just add shit to it, but I thought the FN was to educate people how to make real dishes.
Bobblehead aka Rach Ray- She is over the top of WHAT???? Yes I play a game with my boyfriend, everytime 30 mins. airs we get beers ready and when she says her imfamous words "EVOO, sammies, delish, garbage bowl, awesome, eyeball it, giggles, ect., we take a drink. Guaranteed your tipsy (if not drunk) in 30 minutes. FN needs to restructure what their goal is really quick. Do they want the true chefs that really show people methods, ideas of real cooking or do they want to have circus acts like they are airing?

I lived in England for two years and lost weight, and loved the food--loved Tescos, Marks and Spencers, Sainsbury's and the ease of finding good vegetarian food. I loved the gastropub atmosphere and the emphasis on talking and pub quizzes rather than just drinking.

I don't eat meat or drink beer and there was lovely Indian food, the chips were great for junk food, and snack food like crisps, flapjacks, and chocolates were divine. Ditto jacket potatoes with cheddar and butter--now that's awesome street food!

The problem with British food is not that it is bad, but that when it is bad it is grotesquely, epically bad food, bad food like none other I have been served in restaurants--like the pub where I asked if the soup was vegetarian and the man said, "oooh, I'll have to go back and have cook look at the tin" and the soggy white bread, Nescafe, and so forth. And because tourists don't know where the good British food is they eat at such places and go back without seeing how good it can be, particularly in supermarkets and out-of-the way places.

Ed, a quick follow-up on Britt's in Carolina Beach, NC. They have been in the same shop since 1939, and I'm not sure if they've updated much since then. They are only open in the Spring and Summer, and from the beginning they've only made one type of doughnut, glazed. They stopped with one simply because you can't improve upon perfection. You can find some sinfully delicious fried lumps of dough everywhere you go, but Britt's are truly orgasmic. Before you go, put 911 on the speed dial, as it's difficult not to consume the whole bag before you can get back to the car. That nice warm fuzzy feeling you get after eating a bag or two is probably your arteries congealing. Ah, but if you gotta go, you ain't gonna find a tastier way...